Nut-lock.



onirica.

ARTHUR L. GODDARD, OF ROGKFORD, ILLINOIS.

NUT-Look.

Application led July 26, 1909.

T 0 all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR L. GODDARD, citizen of the United States, andresident of Rockford, county of Winnebago, Illinois, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Nut-Locks, of which the followingis a specification.

This invention relates to means for locking nuts against accidentalrotation and is intended to provide a simple, eicient and thoroughlyreliable means by which a nut may be locked in any desired position onthe bolt and may be held positively against working loose while makingit possible to remove the nut when it is desired todo so.

A further object of the invention is to provide a locking device of thecharacter described capable of being applied to the bolt either inadvance of or behind the nut which it is desired to lock and whichdevice is also capable of being used independently if desired, withoutany additional nut or holding means.

In the drawings I have illustrated a preferred form of embodying theprinciples of my aforesaid invention, Figure l being an end or face viewof said nut; Fig. 2 being a central cross section on the plane indicatedby line 2 2 of Fig. l; Fig. 3 being a central cross section on the planeindicated by line 3-3 of Fig. l.V Fig. 4 isa vertical central sectionshowing the application yof the lock nut to hold an ordinary nut inplace. Fig. 5 is a face view of a portion ofthe bolt showing how thethreads are laterally displaced by thel lock nut. Fig. 6 is a sideelevation showing the lock nut applied in advance of the ordinary nut.

In the practice of this invention I provide a spring metal, preferablyspring steel, disk a which is preferably of polygonal form and which iscentrally bored, as in the case of' an ordinary nut, except that Iprefer to make the bore slightly larger in internal diameterthanthe rootdiameter of the bolt to which it is t'o be applied for reasonshereinafter explained.y

By means of slots a extending from the bore partly to the periphery ofthe nut lock or disk a, I partly sever a portion a2 of the lock nutlfrom the rest of the disk, said partly severed portion being offsetadjacent to the bore, as shown in Figs. 2 and,

3. Both the offset portion andv the-main body portion are'formedwith aninternal Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 3, 1916.

Serial No. 509,638.

screw thread conforming throughout to the pitch of the thread of thebolt to which it is to be applied, this being effected by tappingv .hasbeen 'turned to place. Since the jaws a2, by reason of their partialseverance from the main body portion vof the disk, are capable of anindependent lateral or axial movement, it will be clear that when thelocking member is turned up againstv the outer face of the nut c toengage therewith, the further rotation of the locking member a; willserve to crowd the threads of the bolt Z laterally of the nut orlongitudinally of the bolt, so that they will be partly swaged into theoffset positions shown at d. These offset portions el of the thread arethus forced behind the shoulders formed by those portions of the threadsof the mainportion of the disk that have just passed beyond the portionsclthat are thus' displaced so as to form shoulders partly abuttingagainst the shoulders 0:3 of the body portion'of the nut lock. Theseabutments or shoulders formed by the displaced threads,` form a positivelocking means for preventing the loosening ofthe nut.y At the same timethe sharp edge a4 of the olfsetmernber or aw e2 scrapesup or digs out ashaving on the opposed face ofthe relatively softer nut c so as as t'oform an linterlocking engagement therewith, as shown in Fig. 4.

It will be obvious that in light work where a heavy nut is not needed,the ordinary nut may be dispensed with andV the locking 'nut a may bescrewed l,directly up against the work b, in which case it has preciselythe same action as when screwed up against the nut c. It is also clearthat the same lateral swagingeffect upon the screw threads of the boltwill be secured if the locknut a be turned on to the bolt in advance ofthe ordinary nut, in which case of course the plished not by the turningof the lock nut but by the turning of the nut c up against the offsetjaw a2 so as to force it in an axial direction across the threads of thebolt. Hence, it will be seen that the rotation of either the lockingmember itself or of its `opposed member will produce the same effeet. Asit is not necessary or desirable to displace the bolt threads to theextent of their entire depth, the lock nut is preferably bored outsomewhat larger' than the root diameter of the bolt so that its internalthreads engage the upper portions of the bolt threads but do not extendto the bottom of the thread grooves. This renders it easier to cause thelateral displacement of the threads and also makes it practicable toswage the displaced portions of the bolt threads back to their originalposition by turning back or reversely rotating the locking member bymeans of a wrench so that the bolt and nut may be used repeatedly sincethe reverse rotation restores the laterally offset threads to theirnormal position. While a single offset or locking jaw may serve thepurpose, I have in this case shown the nut with diametrically opposedlocking jaws as being on some accounts a more convenient form of theinvention for practical use.

l/Vhat l claim is 1. A device of the class described comprising a bolt,a metal polygonal disk provided with an internal bore of slightly largerdiameter than the root diameter of the bolt to which it is to beapplied, and having a portion of the entire thickness of the diskadjacent to the bore axially offset in relation to the remainder of thedisk, the bore being tapped to form a screw thread of continuous pitchthrough the main and oifset portions whereby the turning of the disk orits adjacent engaging member causes said offset portion to axiallydisplace the bolt threads engaged by it, in order to prevent backingott' substantially as described.

2. A device of the class described embracing in its construction thecombination with a bolt, of a disk or locking nut provided with a.central bore and having adjacent severing slots extending from said boreoutwardly and from end to end thereof to form a yielding jaw which isoffset from the face of the disk adjacent to the bore, said bore beingformed with an internal screw thread conforming throughout both the mainportion and the offset portion to the pitch of the thread of the bolt towhich itis to be applied whereby external pressure against said of-setjaw in an axial direction causes said offset jaw to move axially anddisplace that portion of the bolt threads engaged by it substantially asdescribed.

3. The combination of a bolt, a member' engaged thereby, a lockingmember of spring metal formed with a central bore, a portion of which ispartially severed from the remainder' by adjacent slits parallel to theaxis of the bore and ofi-set axially therefrom, both the main and theoiiset portions being formed with a continuous screw thread conformingto the pitch of the thread of the bolt whereby the rotation of either ofsaid members against the other acts to displace a portion of the boltthreads engaged by the offset portion of the locking member toform apositive lock against rotation substantially as described.

ll. A nut lock embracing in its construction a bolt, a polygonal diskformed with a central bore, the disk being slotted through its entirethickness from the bore outward, said slots terminating short of theperiphery so as to form a spring tongue, said spring tongue being offsetin an axial direction with relation to the main body portion yof thedisk, both the main portion and the offset portion being formed with auniform and continuous screw thread conforming to the thread of the boltwhereby upon .tightly screwing the disk and the nut against each otherthe axial movement of the spring tongue causes an axial displacement ofthe bolt threads by which the disk is held positively against rotation,substantially as described. j

In witness whereof, I have subscribed the above specification.

ARTHUR L. GODDARD.

In the presence of- FRANK S. HORNER, CHARLES F.- HORNER.

Copies of this patentV may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

